1. Histological Analysis, Bioinformatics Profile, and Expression of Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) in Bovine Testes
- Author
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Sijiu Yu, De Hong Li, Seth Yaw Afedo, Bo Liao, Peng Zhang, Yan Cui, Hui Li, Zihan Zhao, Shengnan Zou, and Huizhu Zhang
- Subjects
testes ,Bioinformatics ,Article ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Western blot ,lcsh:Zoology ,Gene expression ,medicine ,lcsh:QL1-991 ,030304 developmental biology ,chemistry.chemical_classification ,0303 health sciences ,Messenger RNA ,lcsh:Veterinary medicine ,General Veterinary ,biology ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,bovine ,bioinformatics ,Zebu ,digestive system diseases ,Amino acid ,cell_developmental_biology ,Open reading frame ,chemistry ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase ,MTHFR ,biology.protein ,gene expression ,lcsh:SF600-1100 ,Animal Science and Zoology ,Spermatogenesis - Abstract
Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), an enzyme expressed in mammalian testes, exerts a direct effect on spermatogenesis, however, its protein characteristics in bovine testes remain unknown. Here, we analysed bovine testicular structure, MTHFR bioinformatics profile, mRNA, and protein expression characteristics in yellow-cattle (y-c) and yak testis using histological procedures, bioinformatics analysis, qRT-PCR, and western blot. Testes from 13 bovines, &le, 2 years juvenile (y-c, n = 3, yak, n = 3) and &ge, 3 years adult (y-c, n = 3, yak, n = 4) were collected and analysed. Anatomical characteristics of testis in y-c and yak were similar except the weight or size for which that of y-c was significantly higher or greater than yak. In y-c, an open reading frame (ORF) for 2600 nucleotides sequence, encoding 655 amino acids showed high homology with zebu cattle (99.51%) and wild yak (98.68%). Secondary and 3D protein structures were similar to that of humans with differences in the number of nucleotides, amino acids, and some physico-chemical characteristics. MTHFR mRNA expression in y-c and yak were significantly higher in adult testes compared with juvenile ones. However, its protein expression was higher, but not statistically significant, in adult y-c and yak compared to the juvenile ones. The highlights and inferences of these and other findings are discussed.
- Published
- 2020